Raytheon Company (RTN) said it has reached a production milestone under the U.S. Navy's Air & Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) program. The company said it has produced the first group of S-band transmit/receive (T/R) modules for the program, which perfectly meets all AMDR performance and reliability requirements.
Under the program, Raytheon hopes to leverage its established manufacturing expertise, experience and capacity to deliver a low-risk, high-performance system on schedule and keeping in tune with the budget. Raytheon is currently developing a technology demonstrator for the system's S-band radar and radar suite controller.
Raytheon pointed out that this achievement has pushed the Phase II of the AMDR program ahead. At the same time, it also signals Raytheon’s manufacturing readiness for AMDR Phase III, which requires engineering and manufacturing development. Under Phase III, Raytheon will have to compete with other industry teams contending for the program, with each team required to build a functioning radar.
Raytheon has the skill and experience of working with multiple radar bands, which dates back to the Cobra Judy program extending through the current advanced Dual Band Radar and Cobra Judy Replacement programs. We believe the company’s expertise and experience will ensure that AMDR's S- and X-band radars operate in coordination across a variety of operational environments.
Also, Raytheon's extensive work with large-scale, active phased-array radars and expertise in ballistic missile defense radar technology positions it well to face the AMDR competition. To date, Raytheon has produced more than 1.8 million AESA (active electronically scanned array) T/R modules and has decades of experience working with adaptive beamforming technologies.
The AMDR program will provide unprecedented capabilities for the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The radar suite will consist of an S-band radar, X-band radar and radar suite controller. These radars will provide volume and horizon search, precision tracking, ballistic missile defense discrimination, missile communications and terminal illumination functions. AMDR will also be scalable, enabling installation and integration on multiple platforms to meet the Navy's current and future mission requirements.
Raytheon is performing work on the AMDR program at four of its facilities including the Raytheon IDS Headquarters, Tewksbury; the Surveillance and Sensors Center, Sudbury; the Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover; and the Seapower Capability Center, Portsmouth. The first three facilities are situated in Massachusetts while the last one is in Rhode Island.
Raytheon said it has partnered with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a unit of General Dynamics Corp. (GD), and shipbuilder Gibbs & Cox for the development of this next-generation radar solution.
Earlier in May, Raytheon also received a contract from The Boeing Company (BA) to produce and deliver 42 APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for F/A-18 Super Hornet tactical aircraft. The production work for the contract is underway at Raytheon facilities in El Segundo, California; Andover, Massachusetts; Forest, Mississippi; and Dallas, Texas.
Based in Massachusetts, Raytheon Company is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the U.S. with a diversified line of military products, including missiles, radars, sensors, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, communication and information systems, naval systems, air traffic control systems, and technical services.
Raytheon presently retains a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) that corresponds with our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.
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